Chronic kidney disease: a silent epidemic in Indian subcontinent--strategies for management.

The incidence and prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cancer are on the rise. The awareness about chronic kidney disease and its burden on the society is highlighted in the last decade in developed countries. However, this is not the case in India, where studies have shown the prevalence of terminal kidney disease is 785 people per million population. Chronic kidney disease is insidious in onset, slowly progressive, often asymptomatic, irreversible and resulting from fibrosis and scaring in the kidneys. Intervention at an early stage has shown to slow the progression and hence reduces cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Hence, early detection programmes in susceptible individuals including those with diabetes mellitus, hypertension and family history of kidney disease will have major impact on the health of the population.